Information and communication technologies and health in low income countries: the potential and the constraints
01 Jan 2001-Bulletin of The World Health Organization (World Health Organization)-Vol. 79, Iss: 9, pp 850-855
TL;DR: The potential offered by technological progress in the information and communication technologies (ICTs) industries for the health sector in developing countries is outlined, some examples of positive experiences in India are presented, and the difficulties in achieving this potential are considered.
Abstract: This paper outlines the potential offered by technological progress in the information and communication technologies (ICTs) industries for the health sector in developing countries, presents some examples of positive experiences in India, and considers the difficulties in achieving this potential. The development of ICTs can bring about improvements in health in developing countries in at least three ways: as an instrument for continuing education they enable health workers to be informed of and trained in advances in knowledge; they can improve the delivery of health and disaster management services to poor and remote locations; and they can increase the transparency and efficiency of governance, which should, in turn, improve the availability and delivery of publicly provided health services. These potential benefits of ICTs do not necessarily require all the final beneficiaries to be reached directly, thus the cost of a given quantum of effect is reduced. Some current experiments in India, such as the use of Personal Digital Assistants by rural health workers in Rajasthan, the disaster management project in Maharashtra and the computerized village offices in Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry, suggest creative ways of using ICTs to improve the health conditions of local people. However, the basic difficulties encountered in using ICTs for such purposes are: an inadequate physical infrastructure; insufficient access by the majority of the population to the hardware; and a lack of the requisite skills for using them. We highlight the substantial cost involved in providing wider access, and the problem of resource allocation in poor countries where basic infrastructure for health and education is still lacking. Educating health professionals in the possible uses of ICTs, and providing them with access and "connectivity", would in turn spread the benefits to a much wider set of final beneficiaries and might help reduce the digital divide.
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TL;DR: The research attempts to further the understanding of issues related to quality management in healthcare and helps to see the future avenues in this and related fields.
Abstract: This research paper aims to systematically explore the field quality management in healthcare by performing a rigorous and computer assisted literature review. The criticality and urgency of this sector motivates us to delve deeper into the issues of quality and management of this sector. The key contribution of this research is its qualitative approach and computer aided content analysis across genres. The research attempts to further the understanding of issues related to quality management in healthcare and helps us see the future avenues in this and related fields.
5 citations
Cites background from "Information and communication techn..."
...Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is required to improve the efficiency and accuracy of healthcare organisations (Chandrasekhar and Ghosh, 2001)....
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Proceedings Article•
01 Jan 2006TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted a study to learn how health centers in Thailand use IT, the level of basic IT knowledge among their workers, and their acceptance of health IT.
Abstract: The Thailand universal health care coverage scheme was instituted in 2001 and The Thailand Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) is restructuring its information systems to support this reform. The MOPH anticipates developing computerized health information systems which can provide information for administration tasks and can improve both healthcare delivery and public health services. To achieve these target goals, knowledge about users and organizations is vital. The knowledge of how health center workers currently use information technology (IT), their knowledge of IT, and acceptance of IT are not only beneficial to policy makers but also to system designers and implementers. The primary objective of this study is to learn how health centers in Thailand use IT, the level of basic IT knowledge among their workers, and their acceptance of health IT. We surveyed a random cross sectional sample of 1,607 health centers representing the total of 9,806 in Thailand in 2005. With an 82% response rate, the preliminary results indicate that information technology usage is pervasive in health centers. The respondents showed a moderately high degree of health information technology acceptance with a modest level of basic IT knowledge. There were no differences in degrees of acceptance among the four geographic regions. The mean score of “intention to use IT” was 5.6 on a scale of 7 and the average basic IT knowledge score was 13 out of 20. These results suggests the possibility of project success if the national health center information system projects are developed and implemented
5 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that the strong majority of victims are resilient, showing little evidence of long-term psychological harm, and psychologists should work with sociologists, political scientists, and economists to study community and family-level factors that most strongly impact individuals’ well-being after a disaster and to design new interventions to restore factors promoting resilience.
Abstract: Bonanno, Brewin, Kaniasty, and LaGreca (2010, this issue) provide a comprehensive and authoritative review of research on risk and resilience following disaster, including the authors’ own ground-breaking work in this area. This review seems particularly timely given the apparent excess of natural and human-made disasters in the news in recent years. Images of hurricane victims in New Orleans, tsunami victims in Southeast Asia, earthquake victims in Haiti, and flood victims in Pakistan, as well as those who lost their livelihoods due to the Deep Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast, haunt us, moving us to want to do something. Bonanno et al. caution that some well-motivated attempts to prevent psychological harm in disaster victims may backfire, undermining the natural coping and healing processes that characterize the majority of victims. The authors persuasively demonstrate that the strong majority of victims are resilient, showing little evidence of long-term psychological harm. Still, there is a minority of individuals who suffer long-term distress—manifested in many ways in addition to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—who could benefit from empirically informed interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy. Sadly, few of these individuals will have access to such interventions, particularly when their whole community has been ravaged by a disaster. The aspect of the review by Bonanno et al. that is probably most novel to many psychologists is their discussion of the impact of disasters on families and communities. We are accustomed to thinking about both risk factors and interventions at the level of the individual. The authors make clear, however, that some of the most potent risk factors for postdisaster psychological distress may be at the family and community level, such as decreased instrumental and emotional support. Further, some of the most potent (and safe) interventions may be to restore community and family resources and cohesion as soon as possible after the disaster. This suggests that psychologists should work with sociologists, political scientists, and economists, among other professionals, to study communityand family-level factors that most strongly impact individuals’ well-being after a disaster and to design new interventions to restore factors promoting resilience.
5 citations
TL;DR: The point of this editorial is to acknowledge that many problems in design and human–technology interaction arise when designers and programmers attempt to solve specific problems using concepts inadequate for solving those particular problems.
Abstract: In a way, concepts are like friends. Tell me what your concepts are and I can tell what you are. Modifying freely the way Wittgenstein (1921) expressed this important Kantian (1781) point on the limiting power of concepts on one’s thinking, the concepts that human– technology interaction designers of different scientific backgrounds use differ from each other and, consequently, they are apt to solve the same tasks in different ways. Theoretical concepts constrain the kinds of questions specialists can ask and what kinds of things they are interested in. Thus programmers have a different view of users than do psychologists or sociologists. Just as a lay person can understand little about ventricular tachycardia and cannot ask meaningful questions concerning this phenomenon, so an interaction designer with little psychological knowledge cannot know deeply the relevance of the Big 5 personality traits in interaction design. This way in which concepts function in critical thinking has been known for a very long time, and remains important in interaction design since the problems and innovations of this field can be approached by people who have very different disciplinary and conceptual backgrounds. While the power of concepts in shaping human thoughts has been known for centuries, I have seldom seen its practical consequences considered in interaction design. In this multidisciplinary field, the differences between the various special design languages have not often been addressed, even though concepts form the foundations for the various design languages. All hypotheses and solutions are drawn from concepts either explicitly or implicitly; thus, the contents of concepts define the contents of one’s speaking and thinking. Of course, concepts are not cut in stone but, rather, they are dynamic and versatile. While concepts can be formed on the spot, they grow from or respond to some other system of concepts, that is, perspectives needed to be able to formulate propositions or thoughts (Wittgenstein, 1958). The point of this editorial, however, is to acknowledge that many problems in design and human–technology interaction arise when designers and programmers, among others, attempt to solve specific problems using concepts inadequate for solving those particular problems. One cannot program with only philosophical concepts just as one cannot conduct a user psychological investigation using only concepts from the information systems sciences.
4 citations
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze challenges related to human resources in health information systems (HISs) and ICTs in the health sector of Tanzania and suggest some strategies to address the problem.
Abstract: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are typically introduced in organizations with the promise to help manage resources, increase efficiency, increase work productivity and reduce workload. In the context of developing countries, the lure of these promises is magnified given the existing conditions and inefficiencies. International aid agencies play an importa nt role in shaping this promise. However, introduction and use of ICTs in developing countries has proven problematic due to failures or unsustainability resulting from many factors. One important factor is the lack of appropriate human resources both with respect to quantity and quality. This paper emphasizes that human resource capacity building in developing countries is an urgent issue of concern for the sustainability of ICTs. Drawing on concepts of sustainability, ICT literacy, and human capacity building, this paper analyzes challenges related to human resources in health information systems (HISs) and ICTs in the health sector of Tanzania and suggests some strategies to address the problem. Specifically, the paper focuses on initiation of ICT based HIS in the context of the health sector and argues for human resources with a mix of skills to understand the meaning of data, information, and the use of computers.
4 citations
Cites background from "Information and communication techn..."
...However, the literature provides a number of examples where assumptions about ICTs being critical for bringing about change in developing countries have been problematic (Avgerou and Walsham, 2001; Madon, 1993; Chandrasekhar and Ghosh, 2001; Silva and Figueroa, 2002)....
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...The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can help healthcare sectors in developing countries to potentially plan, monitor, control, and improve health services as well as communicate more effectively across organizational hierarchies (Bhatnagar, 1992; Braa and Blobel, 2003; WHO, 2005; Chandrasekhar and Ghosh, 2001; Mosse, 2005)....
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...…(ICTs) can help healthcare sectors in developing countries to potentially plan, monitor, control, and improve health services as well as communicate more effectively across organizational hierarchies (Bhatnagar, 1992; Braa and Blobel, 2003; WHO, 2005; Chandrasekhar and Ghosh, 2001; Mosse, 2005)....
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TL;DR: This is a fascinating collection of essays exploring "why some people are healthy and others not," from a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives that challenges the widespread belief that health care is the most important determinant of health and argues for a more comprehensive and coherent understanding of the determinants of health.
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TL;DR: In this paper, composite solar cells of improved efficiency comprise two cells of different characteristics arranged in optical series but electrically insulated from each other, each cell is of larger crystal grain size than its substrate, which grain size is achieved by growing the cell semiconductor on a molten intermediate rheotaxy layer of a suitable semi-conductor which solidifies at a temperature below the melting temperature of the solar cell.
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01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the successful use of information and communication technology (ICT) in rural development is discussed, and sixteen case studies are presented, which spell out the various applications of ICT that have made a difference in the delivery of services or products in rural India.
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85 citations